1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to knee supports and braces and in particular to a patella tracking knee brace in the form of a single strap wrapping around the knee with support above and below the kneecap with ends connected by hook and loop fasteners, a crossover point of support in back of the knee cap or on either side of the knee cap, and magnets attachable by hook and loop fasteners for magnet therapy.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Human joints, especially the knee or patella which supports almost the entire body weight but has very limited flexing range, are prone to injuries and ailments, including knee pain, patella instability, runner""s or jumper""s knee, Osgood-Slatter""s disease, chondromalacia, patella tendinitis, arthritis, and bursitis.
With current lifestyles, exercise, sports, and extreme sports are all popular as means of staying fit and providing exciting, challenging experiences. All of these activities put stress on the knee.
The xe2x80x9cbaby boomersxe2x80x9d are now getting older and experiencing pain and incapacity from ailments that accompany getting older, including diseases and discomforts relating to the knee.
With all of these factors, attention to knee support and knee protection is definitely on the rise. While there are many devices designed to address the problems associated with the knee, many of them are elaborate and expensive and limit the movement of the knee in order to protect and comfort the knee. But the lifestyle demands mobility and maximum movement capability for current activities, so the existing art falls short of the needs of the majority of today""s society.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,240,414, issued Dec. 23, 1980 to Theisler, shows a knee brace having a tubular elastic sheath with a leather strap wrapped around it with one front portion above the knee, another front portion below the knee, and a back portion crossing behind the knee. It is not resilient and relies on the sleeve to resiliently restrain the knee cap.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,647, issued May 23, 1995 to Down, describes an elastic support strap with Velcro fasteners which encircles the knee, but it slides through a rigid tube which the strap retains behind the knee joint for alleviating pain from swelling caused by Baker""s cysts.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,848, issued Feb. 23, 1999 to Fulkerson, provides an orthopedic brace with two straps and a support member connected by Velcro. A small pad is attached to the support member.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,298, issued Sep. 15, 1998 to Palumbo, claims a dynamic patella brace having an elastomeric sleeve encircling the knee area with a hole for the patella and a Y-shaped bracing strap wrapped around the leg and fastened by Velcro.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,512,039, issued Apr. 30, 1996 to White, discloses a neoprene sleeve which fits around the knee with a hole for the patella and a number of neoprene straps with Velcro fasteners wrapping around the sleeve at various angles.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,428, issued Aug. 21, 1984 to McCoy, indicates a patella support apparatus having circular padded brace member around the patella and an adjustable strap wrapped around the knee area with a buckle for fastening.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,951, issued Dec. 7, 1993 to Ishii, puts forth a taping supporter having a resilient sleeve fitting around the knee with a hole for the patella and marks imprinted on the outside of the sleeve to show how to apply tape to retain the sleeve with some one of the tape elements passing above and below the knee in front and crossing in the back behind the knee.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,139,015, issued Aug. 18, 1992 to Momeau, concerns a knee support wrap for lifting weights having an elastic support over the front and side portions of the knee with an opening at the center and a Velcro attached strap encircling behind the knee, also having an additional buckle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,388, issued Apr. 29, 1997 to Lehr, illustrates a therapeutic elbow support formed of a loop of elastic material having a 360xc2x0 twist built in so that it assumes a configuration around the elbow with one portion wrapping above the elbow and another below the elbow and the strap crossing over itself behind the elbow.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,179,903, issued Nov. 14, 1939 to Spears, is for a knee joint protector hiving side pads with straps that pass above and below the knee cap in front and a single strap in the back.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,532,921, issued Aug. 6, 1985 to von Torklus, describes a knee joint bandage having a curved elastic hose element fitting in front of and under the knee cap and a Velcro attached strap going behind the knee with an elastic sleeve fitting over the knee area.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,334,528, issued Jun. 15, 1982 to Gauvry, shows a knee strap having a soft flexible strap fitting just under the knee cap in front and flat Velcro attaching ends of the strap behind the knee.
None of the prior art provide the versatility of applying maximum knee support precisely where it is needed in a device combining the best features of a knee brace and a patella strap. Further, none of the prior art have the simplicity of a knee support and protective device which is inexpensive to produce and easy to apply and adjust, and allows for normal functioning and support to enable the high level of activity associated with today""s active lifestyle, nor do they provide simple devices which are easy to package, store, and transport.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a knee support and protector which provides the best attributes of a patella strap and a conventional knee brace to stay in place below the knee cap even with much bending of the knee.
A related object of the present invention is to provide a knee support and protector which helps keep the quadriceps stable and allows the patella to xe2x80x9ctrackxe2x80x9d more efficiently thereby reducing, if not eliminating, instability.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a simple device comprised of a single component which serves as a means of protecting and supporting the knee to overcome the pain of injuries and diseases and enable maximum activity.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a knee protector and support formed by a single thin strap with a minimum of material to enable the device to be worn twenty-four hours a day without discomfort. The present invention prevents the discomforts of devices that are large and cover large amounts of skin area. The present invention does not cause the rashes, itchiness, and irritability that often occur with other devices.
One more object of the present invention is to provide a knee protector and support which is easy to install by wrapping the device around the knee and connecting the ends of the device with a hook and loop fastener.
A subsequent object of the present invention is to provide a knee protector and support which applies maximum pressure and support on the problem areas around the perimeter of the knee where problems with knee displacement arise.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a device which enables the application of magnet therapy by providing magnets attachable to the knee strap with the same hook and loop technology which may be applied at any point on the entire knee strap to provide increased circulation bringing more oxygen rich blood to the magnet location to help decrease inflammation ad reduce pain.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a knee protector and support which may be installed on the knee in a variety of configurations to enable maximum support to be provided at any desired point based on how the present invention is installed on the knee.
A related object of the present invention is to provide a knee protector and support with a full peripheral support around the knee and two points of extra strength support where the knee strap overlaps itself to form an xe2x80x9cXxe2x80x9d and where the two ends of the knee strap overlap with a hook and loop fastener connection. Wearing the knee strap overlap below the knee creates a thicker cradle for the patella. Wearing the knee strap overlap above the knee gives added support to the quadriceps.
A contributory object of the present invention is to provide a knee protector and support which is inexpensive to manufacture from a single thin strip of elasticized material.
An added object of the present invention is to provide a knee protector and support which is easy to adjust by virtue of the knee strap being fabricated of a long thin strip of elasticized material with overlapping mating hook and loop fasteners to allow a wide range of adjustability of the knee strap.
An ancillary object of the present invention is to provide a knee support and protector which enables the user to participate in activities and sports not otherwise possible, such as golfing, surfing, skiing, running, jogging, tennis, soccer, and many other activities.
Yet another object of the present invention is that it provides a way for the user to remain active and overcome problems such as knee pain, patella instability, runner""s or jumper""s knee, Osgood-Slatter""s disease, chondromalacia, patella tendinitis, arthritis, bursitis, and other problems associated with the knee.
In brief, a knee brace is configured to properly track the kneecap (patella) and give added support to the muscles, ligaments and tendons above, below and on each side of the patella. The kneebrace is comprised of a singular strap made of thick neoprene material with nylon laminated on ene side and a xe2x80x9chook-compatiblexe2x80x9d material laminated to the other side.
One end of the strap has a six inch piece of xe2x80x9chookxe2x80x9d material, from a hook and loop type fastener, sewn onto the nylon side of the strap and the other end may use the existing xe2x80x9chook compatiblexe2x80x9d material or have a six inch piece of xe2x80x9cloopxe2x80x9d material sewn onto the hook-compatible side of the strap.
The strap is applied to the knee in one of two primary ways:
1. Placing the center of the strap just above the kneecap and crossing the strap behind the knee in a criss-cross manner and bringing each end of the strap just below the kneecap where the ends affix to each other by virtue of the xe2x80x9chookxe2x80x9d of one end of the strap adhering to the xe2x80x9cloopxe2x80x9d of the other end of the strap. This method double the thickness of the neoprene below the knee and creates extra support and stabilization below the knee.
2. Placing the center of the strap just below the kneecap and crisscrossing the strap behind the knee and bringing each end of the strap just above the kneecap where the ends affix to each other by virtue of the xe2x80x9chookxe2x80x9d of one end of the strap adhering to the xe2x80x9cloopxe2x80x9d of the other end of the strap. This method doubles the thickness of the neoprene above the knee and creates extra support and stabilization above the kneecap.
Adjustment is made by the amount of overlap of the two ends and may be made as tight as necessary for adequate support. With the strap in place there is preferably some stretching of the resilient neoprene strap to hold the patella with a tight tension fit.
Additionally, the xe2x80x9cXxe2x80x9d created by the criss-crossing of the strap behind the knee can be adjusted to position the xe2x80x9cXxe2x80x9d to the back of the knee, or for lateral support, to the left side of the knee or to the right side of the knee, depending on where the added support is needed.
The xe2x80x9chook-compatiblexe2x80x9d material also serves as a base whereby magnetic therapy disk magnets, which have a xe2x80x9chookxe2x80x9d material glued to one side of the magnets, may be attached. The magnets attach anywhere along the hook-compatible material and are easily attached, detached and relocated depending on where the magnetic therapy is required.
An advantage of the present invention is that it raises the knee cap, thus helping to relieve the pain and the instability associated with a problematic patella, while at the same time giving added support and strength to the quadriceps.
Another advantage of the present invention is that by keeping the quadriceps stable it allows the patella to xe2x80x9ctrackxe2x80x9d more efficiently to maintain stability.
An additional advantage of the present invention is that it enables maximum activity while protecting and supporting the knee and overcoming pain.
One more advantage of the present invention is that it may be worn for long periods of time without irritation.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that it is easy to install and remove without the need to remove footwear.
Still another advantage of the present invention is that it allows precise application of the knee support where it is needed most.
A further advantage of the present invention is that it enables the use of magnet therapy for the knee area as well as providing support and protection for the knee.
A related advantage of the present invention is that it enables magnets to be placed in direct contact with the affected area for more effective magnetic therapy.
A still further advantage of the present invention is that it is inexpensive to manufacture, and easy to package and store.
On more advantage of the present invention is that it works both for the prevention and rehabilitation of knee injuries and chronic knee problems.
An additional advantage of the present invention is that it is easy to install and adjust to just the required location and orientation for protection and support as needed.
One further advantage of the present invention is that it combines the best attributes of a patella strap and a conventional knee brace, because it stays in place below the knee cap even with much bending of the knee while keeping the quadriceps stable and allowing the patella to xe2x80x9ctrackxe2x80x9d more efficiently, while giving added support to the muscles, ligaments and tendons above, below and on each side of the patella.